Major changes for NASA Championships format in 2014

A new scheme makes NASA Championships regional.

The National Auto Sport Association has long been a friend to us grassroots racers, sanctioning everything from autocross events to full-blown road course tournaments. For competitive amateurs with time constraints or a tight budget, though, cross-country hauls to NASA Championships have always been a proverbial wrench in the spokes.

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Luckily, NASA is switching things up next year.

To cut down on long tows, NASA has announced a major format change: beginning in 2014, the organization will adopt a dual trophy scheme, with separate Eastern and Western State Championships races. In prior years, NASA alternated between coasts annually.

Under the new bi-coastal plan, Championships will also be at a different track each year. Road Atlanta and Sonoma Raceway have been announced as the 2014 circuits; the 2015 Championships pairing could be anywhere.

Additionally, NASA will condense its weekend schedule to a Friday-Sunday weekend, axing Thursday and making it easier for those 9-to-5'ers to get out and race.

This is exciting stuff, and likely to continue fostering the growth of Spec E30 and Spec Miata, both of which have seen a popularity boom in recent years.

Bottom line: NASA Championships will be more local, more flexible, and more accessible. It's never too early to get a jump on those winter builds, guys...